Bozeman city officials want to further restrict short-term rental policies. A work session on Tuesday with about a hundred people in attendance prompted intense discussion over whether rentals should be used for tourists or local workers.
Policy decisions were not made at the meeting on Tuesday. But, the commission directed staff to draft an ordinance that would ban type 3, non-owner occupied short- term rentals - these are typically second homes and investment properties.
The commission is also looking to pursue higher fees and stricter residency requirements for some owner-occupied rentals.
City staff presented data from a consultant that banning short term rentals would mean fewer lodging beds available and negative impacts to the tourism economy. Commissioner Chris Coburn responded.
“I’m not really worried about tourists because they’re going to keep coming; they’re fine. Tourists aren’t the people that I’m looking for or thinking about constantly. It’s people who are living and working here who are being impacted by some of the things that we have limited tools to impact, one of them being housing and one of them being short- term rentals.”
Dozens of people testified at the meeting. Some expressed doubt that short-term rental owners would convert their properties to long term rentals and worried about losing income to pay for things like retirement and taxes.
Some members of the Bozeman Tenants United group, which has been pushing for changes, said banning short-term rentals wouldn’t solve the housing crisis, but would open up more units for working class renters.
Bozeman Tenants United’s proposal to use funds from the city’s community housing fund to pay homeowners to rent to locals did not see widespread support from the commission. Coburn explained his position on utilizing the city’s community housing fund for the proposed rent local program.
“I think the long-term affordability that we need is going to be the city deeply investing in land and buildings, and I really want us to see us do big investments from that fund that are going to result in long term if not permanent affordability. I don’t think that incentivizing landlords is a good use of taxpayer dollars.”
A city spokesperson tells YPR that there is not yet a date for when the short-term rental ordinance will go before the city commission for consideration.
